Moffat also confirmed that the new Doctor will debut in the sci-fi drama's 2013 Christmas special, with the 12th actor to play the Time Lord being unveiled to the public "pretty fast" after casting is finalised.

"It'll be the traditional regeneration," he explained. "You know, the eleventh will fall and the twelfth shall rise. And you'll see that in the closing moments of the show.

"I mean, you sometimes sit and think, 'Are there better ways of doing it? Is there a different way of doing it?' But quite honestly what could be better than that? It's just too exciting."

The new Doctor's first full series will then follow in "late summer 2014".

Doctor Who returns to BBC One for its 50th anniversary special this November.